The Proposal
by vastlimitless
Summary: A young, demanding boss forces his naïve assistant to marry him in order to keep his Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation back to France, his home country.
1. Coffee

**Title: **The Proposal

**Author:** vastlimitless

**Pairing:** Kurtbastian

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** None

**Disclaimer: **Glee belongs to a bald, yellow-hatted man-troll named Ryan Murphy and The Proposal belongs to Anne Fletcher and Pete Chiarelli, the movie's director and writer.

**Summary: **A young, demanding boss forces his naïve assistant to marry him in order to keep his Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation back to France, his home country.

* * *

**A/N: **A few days ago I was watching The Proposal with my mom, and with my Kurtbastian goggles snugly on over my eyes, this AU popped into my head and I just thought: _How hilarious would that be – but with Kurt and Sebastian?_ So alas, here is my hand at writing it.

* * *

"Shit, shit, _shit._" Kurt hissed to himself as he silenced his alarm clock and leaped out of bed. He sprinted to the bathroom in record time, and after answering nature's calls and swiftly showering, Kurt returned to the bedroom. He (_carefully_) threw on the new Marc Jacobs suit he had treated himself to after his last paycheck from the esteemed publishing company he worked for – Smythe Publishing. It was a great job with good pay and benefits that no other company had offered him when he first went job searching, but it was the same job that his father, Burt, and his stepmother, Carole, urged him to quit whenever they had the chance to.

Unfortunately, on his way into work was one of those chances.

"This is your Aunt Anne's fortieth birthday, kiddo, and you're telling me you can't spare just one weekend for the occasion? I'm really disappointed in you, son. You know how Anne is about birthdays. Turning the big four-oh, and on top of that, her favorite nephew isn't even planning on attending? She's going to go catatonic, Kurt," Burt said into the phone currently balanced between Kurt's chin and shoulder, his arm occupied by a drinks carrier full of four of the same cups of coffee all tucked snugly in the mold. The other arm clutched at his Michael Kors briefcase tightly as he left the café that was a mere block away from Smythe Publishing.

Kurt heaved a noisy, exasperated sigh. "Dad, it's not that I don't _want_ to be there, you know that, but –"

"But what, Kurt? Last time I checked you had a backbone and a sharp tongue, just like your mom's, that you knew how to use. Did the devil tell you to leave those at home too? This isn't _you_, Kurt. The son I know would have stopped taking his shit a long time ago – he would have quit! Now I understand you're worried –"

"Dad, I can't do this right now!" Kurt interrupted before his dad went off on another tangent. "I'm walking into the lobby as we speak. I already told you, something came up at the last minute and Sebastian needs me to attend a weekend-long meeting with him for this deal he's making. It's not like I want to be missing Aunt Anne's birthday, but I'm sure she'll understand. It's _work_, Dad. Besides, I'm an adult who can make his own decisions and who has off this entire next week for Thanksgiving break," Kurt explained, maneuvering himself around so that he could poke his elbow into the 'Up' button on the elevator pad.

"All next week?" Burt asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Dad. All next week. I'll catch a flight to Ohio on Sunday, okay? I promise. Now can you please hang up? Both of my hands are currently occupied and I'm barely pressing the right buttons on the elevator."

"I'll call and ask Anne to invite the rest of the family – what's that? – oh, Carole just said she'd call up some of your friends and see if they'd be up for staying at the Hummel-Hudsons' for a few days –"

"Dad! Don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourselves? Honestly," Kurt huffed, tapping his foot against the floor of the elevator impatiently. "Tell Carole not to do that. Finn and Rachel are already going to be there by default, and I don't think I could handle the entire former New Directions hyped up on pumpkin pie _and _Aunt Anne freaking out about turning forty. This is a disaster waiting to – _oomph!_"

The first thing Kurt registered was the warmth seeping through the fabric of his clothes. His _expensive designer _clothes.

The second thing Kurt registered was his iPhone clattering to the ground, a beeping sound indicating the call between him and his father had been ended. He made no move to retrieve it however, still staring dumbfounded at his ruined suit in a mixture of awe and disbelief.

The third thing Kurt registered was the time. While the man he had slammed into was dabbing at his shirt and tie with his handkerchief, his wrist simultaneously flashed the time. _It was already ten past nine?_ Why hadn't anyone warned him? He waved off the man's frantic apologies and made a mad dash for his boss' pristine office.

Towards the start of his job, Sebastian had told Kurt he would be at work at nine twenty sharp, every morning. Once in a blue moon, his boss would show up at the allotted time, but most days it wasn't unusual for him to arrive five minutes early. He hurried to the set of doors at the other end of the office, hoping upon hope that this was one of those days where Sebastian Smythe actually arrived at work on time – or at least, when he said he would.

Unfortunately, fate was not on his side that day.

When Kurt pushed open the door with his shoulder and stumbled into the spacious office, Sebastian was seated behind his finished wood desk, furiously typing away on his laptop. Kurt swallowed thickly and moved forward to set down one of the two coffees left unharmed by the earlier collision, feeling a bit too much for his comfort like he was playing the Andy Sachs to Sebastian's Miranda Priestly. Sebastian cleared his throat, subsequently startling Kurt out of his thoughts and forcing him to meet his relentless gaze.

"Did you spill my coffee on yourself just now?" Sebastian asked coolly, his eyebrows raised.

"No, of course not." Kurt half-lied. One of those coffees in the carrier _was_ his; he bought four of Sebastian's coffee order in case an incident like this ever occurred. It was probably one of the brightest ideas he'd had after accidentally spilling Sebastian's morning coffee when he'd first began at Smythe Publishing. Since then he'd acquired a taste for Sebastian's coffee order, having no choice but to do so in case all of Sebastian's cups spilled and Kurt was left with only his order. If he gave his boss the wrong coffee order, he might as well turn in a resignation letter by the end of the day. Sebastian only let slip a handful of mistakes, and Kurt was fiercely determined not to use them all up in case of an emergency.

"Then why do you smell of my morning latte with its shot of Courvoisier?"

"I spilled my coffee," Kurt blurted out, much to his dismay. It wasn't a complete lie; in fact, it was the truth – but he had been warned by his coworkers against letting slip this piece of information if he wanted to maintain a shred of his dignity. Kurt's old coffee order had been a grande nonfat mocha, and as far as Sebastian knew (or cared to know), that was what it continued to be.

If Sebastian knew just how much Kurt had adjusted his life to his boss' schedule, what else would he make Kurt do for him? What other moments with his family and friends would he miss?

"Interesting." Sebastian said finally, accepting the cup of coffee and focusing on his laptop screen again. Kurt breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to leave, glad that for now he was able to avoid a confrontation of sorts concerning his incompetence, when Sebastian coughed once more to gain his attention.

"Yes, sir?"

"Who is Chandler? And why does he want me to call him?"

_Oh god,_ Kurt thought, his cheeks heating up and coloring. He squeezed his eyes shut for a brief moment in order to somewhat compose himself, before he reopened them and turned back around with shaky hands. Chandler was the kind, helpful, and occasionally flirtatious barista, whom Kurt had set up an arrangement with to have Sebastian's coffee order (and the backup cups) ready by the time he swept into the café and out again. Every now and then, Chandler would pen a sweet message and include his number on one of the coffees, and apparently it was one of those days in which he had felt the need to compliment Kurt's two oceans for eyes – as far as he could see from where he was standing.

"A friend?" Kurt said, his answer coming out as more of a question. What was an appropriate answer?

"Well, tell your _friend _he needs to find better, more successful ways to charm his way into the pants of men he's interested in, as the object of his affections just handed off his number to his boss because said object is clumsy. No surprise there though, seeing as said object –" Sebastian dropped the untouched coffee cup into the trash bin and motioned for the other in Kurt's hand, "– doesn't have a backbone to begin with," He finished as Kurt placed the cup on his desk. Sebastian proceeded to wave him away with a withering stare, and Kurt obeyed the silent order almost immediately.

Not only was the man he had collided with earlier waving his ringing phone in his face (the screen flashed with his dad's photo yet again, and boy was he in for it) as he stepped out of the office, but his suit was sticking to him uncomfortably, his briefcase was stained, he had no coffee, and his boss had taken what was left of his pride and smashed it into pieces.

Today was definitely not his day.


	2. Everyday

**Title: **The Proposal

**Author:** vastlimitless

**Pairing:** Kurtbastian

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** None

**Disclaimer: **Glee belongs to a bald, yellow-hatted man-troll named Ryan Murphy and The Proposal belongs to Anne Fletcher and Pete Chiarelli, the movie's director and writer.

**Summary: **A young, demanding boss forces his naïve assistant to marry him in order to keep his Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation back to France, his home country.

* * *

**A/N: **Just for clarification, Kurt has basically trained himself to tolerate Sebastian's coffee order because a) he needs caffeine no matter what it tastes like, and b) if he spills, he won't have to worry about not having Sebastian's coffee because he can just hand one of the backups to his boss. I'm sorry if that was unclear! I kept rereading those few paragraphs and trying to look at it from an objective point of view, and I wasn't sure if I was only making sense while I was writing it because I was hanging out in my own head.

On another note, thank you for reading! It means a lot to me that people would read my stories. Anyway, on to the story! Enjoy!

* * *

"Hummel, I need you in Nick Duval's office."

Kurt blinked owlishly at the cracked doors of Sebastian Smythe's office, where his boss' voice had filtered out from, waging an internal war over whether or not he should face up to his fears or cower under his desk. He thanked his cubicle neighbor again (although as Kurt was Sebastian's secretary assistant, his cubicle was slightly larger than the rest and subsequently nearer to the doors of Sebastian's office) for lending him the top half of his clean suit. He sent out a quick email to the entire office that Sebastian was fixing to be on the move, and once everyone had received it (judging by the way everyone got right back to work), Kurt pushed away from his desk to greet Sebastian just as the latter emerged from his office.

"Did you read the manuscript I left on your desk last night?" Kurt asked, following closely behind Sebastian as his boss strode towards Nick Duval's office doors with a sense of urgency. There was an unnerving amount of intent behind each step; did Sebastian have good news? _No_, Kurt thought. _If Sebastian had good news, he would have made me go in alone._

"I got three pages into it this morning before I yawned and decided to balance my checkbook," Sebastian said, speeding up if that were even possible. Kurt struggled to keep up and to keep the hurt confusion off his face. It was one of his own works, one he had been writing since his high school years. The manuscript he dropped off on Sebastian's desk was only the first draft, but he'd pored over those pages for months on end. He left the author anonymous (it happened more often than one would expect) so that Sebastian wouldn't immediately refuse it, and at least he hadn't.

He had just thought it was boring.

"Also, do me a favor and get my coffee from someplace else. I feel as though _Chandler_ –" Sebastian drew out his name with such distaste for someone he had never met, "– might spit in my cups tomorrow, seeing as I've called the manager of that sad little café and gotten him fired. Well, not fired, per se. Being as generous a person as I am, I pulled a few strings and scored your friend exactly a week to find a new job. We can't have my assistant be distracted by someone who is undoubtedly a terrible lay anyway. You have too much to do, Hummel."

Kurt didn't miss the way Sebastian had said 'my cups' in plural.

When they arrived before the doors of Nick Duval's office, Sebastian stopped and regarded Kurt with a cold glare. "Remember, you are just a prop in here. Say nothing or I'll drip scalding hot coffee down the back of that expensive suit you just borrowed," He snapped lowly, before he shoved through the doors.

"Duval!" Sebastian barked, not unlike a drill sergeant. Kurt nearly jumped three feet at the volume of Sebastian's voice, following his boss inside and silently closing the door behind him before retreating to the back of the room. He looked on in morbid fascination as, in one of his rare moments, Sebastian's face morphed into a shark-like smile – _not even_, Kurt thought. It resembled more of a meerkat or a chipmunk. It might be adorable if Sebastian's personality didn't lack so much and if he wasn't such a sexual deviant – although he supposed he ought to thank that side of Sebastian, because if it wasn't for him, Kurt wouldn't have this job.

Then again, maybe he'd hold off on that thank you.

When Kurt had first begun at Smythe Publishing, he had just graduated from Columbia several weeks earlier after majoring in creative writing. It was also around that time that his (then) new friends, Thad and Trent (who had been promoted to the same floor for knowing too much about the reasons Kurt had been promoted to his current job), had taken him out to celebrate his new position at the publishing company. Kurt unknowingly allowed them to drag him to a gay bar (much to his later chagrin) and that was where he had met Sebastian, who laid it on him even more thickly than he accused Chandler of doing.

Kurt suppressed a chuckle as he recalled bumping into Sebastian at work the following day, how he had _innocently_ brought up the previous night's encounter (in which Kurt had declined Sebastian's offer to go home with him), and how the other occupants of the elevator had stared at the exchange with wide eyes.

It was only two hours later that Kurt was informed of his promotion to Sebastian Smythe's assistant, and it had taken much less than that to put two and two together.

There had been a lot of whispers surrounding the sudden promotion; after all, Kurt had been hired two days prior to becoming one of the major company head's assistant.

And so the rumors started flying.

Whenever Kurt had retreated into the break room, the employees cooped up inside scattered and fled in a murmur, excusing themselves to instead go gossip in their cubicles. Once Kurt had proved how hardworking and dedicated he was to his job – especially now, as he was missing his aunt's birthday party for a stupid meeting – his coworkers stopped trying to squeeze a scandal out of the situation and eventually resumed talking with him.

Almost a year later, Kurt was decent friends with almost everyone. However, he had an inkling that might only be because they pitied him for having to work directly under Sebastian.

"…I'm sorry, Nick, but we have to let you go."

Kurt's head whipped around to look at Sebastian with wide, disbelieving eyes. _What?_

"But – _what?_ You can't do that!" Nick gasped, speaking Kurt's mind.

"Oh, but I can. You have exactly a month to find a new job and to tell everyone in this workplace that you are resigning. If you dare make a scene, I will not hesitate to alert security and have them escort you out of the building – if it's a scene you want. But you don't want to cause any trouble, now do you?" Sebastian said threateningly. Kurt wanted to throw his binder at his boss' head. Couldn't he spare a few moments to not be a total dick – especially when someone's job was on the line?

"On what grounds? I haven't done anything wrong." Nick fired back, folding his arms across his chest, and Kurt felt sorry for him. At least Nick was being allowed more than a week to find some place else to work, unlike Chandler.

"Jeff Sterling?" Sebastian prompted, tapping his foot on the carpeted floor obnoxiously. Kurt's eyes zeroed in on the movement, silently willing it to stop. As if Sebastian could feel him burning a hole in the back of his ankle, he tapped on the carpet even louder. Nick appeared to swallow with difficulty.

"Jeff?" Kurt chimed in, his brows furrowing when Nick said nothing. Sebastian shot him a glare that silenced him, and he too folded his arms across his chest with a quiet, indignant huff.

"What about him?" Nick asked, his voice suddenly taking on a measured tone that bordered on suspicious and was simply too calm for someone about to lose their job. Kurt watched as Sebastian's meerkat smile curled up into a cruel smirk, the one he used to 'let a client down gently.' In other words, Sebastian was preparing for the utter destruction of Nick Duval's reputation. Kurt inched towards the door.

"I let him go a few months ago for trying to get his book published here, and now imagine my hurt when I find out that you have been sitting at that desk ever since, helping him all along. He knew perfectly well that trying to get one of his own works published here was against the rules, and it still is," Sebastian said smoothly. Kurt reminded himself that he hadn't been trying to do that earlier – and he hadn't. His intentions had more or less been to _see_ Sebastian's reaction to his work, as he was highly regarded among a league of famous publishers, and now that Kurt had had that chance, he wasn't too eager now to hear more of what other publishers thought about a land where old childhood stories came to life.

"I – that's not what happened – I can explain, just –"

"I want to see boxes in here by the end of the week." Sebastian ordered, cutting Nick off and ignoring his pleas as he strutted out of the office. Kurt bit down hard on his bottom lip to keep from saying a word and fled from the office, following behind Sebastian at a much slower pace this time.

* * *

"Dad –!"

"Kurt, you just got through telling me how humiliating giving the guy coffee was," Burt interrupted firmly. "And I just got off the phone with your Aunt Anne. She says she understands, but she's clearly upset. What job is worth being made to feel like a fool and upsetting your family?"

Kurt opened his mouth to protest, but he snapped it shut just as quickly when he spotted Sebastian coming towards him from his office. He frantically searched his mind for an excuse as to why he was wasting work hours speaking to family, but the search turned up fruitless with each step closer Sebastian got. Finally, he came across a bright idea.

"I'm sorry, sir, but you'll either need to hand in or fax your manuscript. It isn't smart to only rely on e-mail –"

"Kurt, what are you –"

"On that note, here – let me give you my fax number, how does that sound?" Kurt could only pray his dad would play along, as Sebastian had arrived at his desk. He kept his eyes carefully fixed on the monitor in front of him, wishing away Sebastian's presence, feeling those cold, green eyes assessing him.

"Damn it, Kurt –!" Burt let out a strangled noise. He lowered his voice and said, "Think about it, Kurt, and take care of yourself," before he promptly hung up. Kurt kept the phone to his ear for a few more moments, wrapping up the "conversation" before the line started beeping. He gently hung the phone up and turned to regard Sebastian with a brief nod and a short smile.

"What can I do for –"

"How often is it?"

Kurt frowned, his face flushing slightly. "How often is what?"

"How often does your family – or your father, in that case – tell you to quit this job because of me?" Sebastian clarified in a bored voice, his expression unreadable.

Kurt blanched.

"I – no – wait, what? Is this a trick question?" He asked, his face coloring now that he had gotten over the initial shock of _actually being caught_. His heart pounded in time with his head, that headache from last night making a swift return. There was no way he could have been caught – Sebastian's doors had been closed, so he couldn't have heard Kurt talking to his dad, and he had had the perfect cover. He was a fairly talented actor, if he did say so himself; he'd participated in the productions his high school glee club had put on, as well as some community theatre in and around Columbia. "I don't know what you're –"

"Come on, Kurt," Sebastian goaded. The way his boss spoke his name sent a shiver down his spine – a rather unpleasant shiver, because Sebastian never addressed him by any other name besides Hummel, and occasionally Porcelain. "I'm not blind, deaf, nor stupid. I know what people say about me. Now I'd like to know what _you _say," He explained, leaning forward into Kurt's personal space.

"How often do they tell you to quit this job because of me?" Sebastian repeated evenly.

"Everyday," Kurt answered honestly.

Sebastian simply cast a cocky smirk in his direction and retreated back into his office. Meanwhile, Kurt's shoulders sagged and he reclined against his chair, praying he'd have at least a two-week grace period to find another job before he was officially fired.


	3. Glint

**Title: **The Proposal

**Author:** vastlimitless

**Pairing:** Kurtbastian

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** None

**Disclaimer: **Glee belongs to a bald, yellow-hatted man-troll named Ryan Murphy and The Proposal belongs to Anne Fletcher and Pete Chiarelli, the movie's director and writer.

**Summary: **A young, demanding boss forces his naïve assistant to marry him in order to keep his Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation back to France, his home country.

* * *

**A/N: **Thank you for your time spent reading what I have written of this story! As you can probably tell, most or all of the story will be told in Kurt's perspective. There may be a time where we follow Sebastian for once instead, but expect it to mostly follow Kurt. If you've seen the movie, you've probably realized that although this story is heavily based off of it, a majority of the events that occurred in the movie are happening a little differently here. That's mostly due to these characters' personalities and what I want and need for them to do to keep the story going in the direction I want. If you have any questions regarding that, let me know!

On another note, it would be greatly appreciated if you could let me know what you think of this next chapter. Thank you again for reading!

* * *

Kurt took a deep, shaky breath as he pressed a button on his phone and spoke into the receiver. The paint on the button was chipped and worn from its constant use; he hated hearing his high, admittedly feminine voice (more than one telemarketer had mistaken him for a woman in his lifetime) echo back to him from the slightly ajar doors of Sebastian's office, but he decided he hated dealing with Sebastian face-to-face even more.

"Sir, Mr. Montgomery would like to meet with you in his –" Just as the word 'office' rolled off Kurt's tongue, Sebastian swept out of his doors and grabbed Kurt by the tie, pulling him along as though he were actually on a leash. Kurt choked on his words of indignity, following only for the promise of air. By the time they arrived on another floor, one of the highest in the building, Kurt was putting all of his effort into not blushing as Sebastian twirled his tie around his finger, standing _way_ too close for Kurt's comfort.

The elevator dinged and the cool metal doors slid open to reveal an even nicer office than Sebastian or Nick's; there was one massive waiting and receptionist area anteceding an even huger office space behind a set of tall, wooden doors. Kurt had ventured inside once or twice, trailing behind Sebastian with a cup of coffee or a stack of important papers, and he recalled a whole wall had been knocked out in favor of one long, large window. It was reminiscent of Sebastian's office on the floor below, but Sebastian's windowed wall was nothing in comparison to Wes Montgomery's.

"Get me some of the good coffee while we're here," Sebastian ordered, promptly letting go of Kurt's tie.

"Good afternoon, Mr. –" The receptionist started, but Sebastian had slipped inside Wes' office before she could finish. The elderly woman looked put off, so Kurt meandered over to make polite conversation with her. She seemed to brighten considerably at the prospect of finally being allowed the opportunity to speak with someone, and he smiled genuinely. However, it was short-lived; in his peripheral vision, Kurt spotted Sebastian gesturing his hand out of the door in Kurt's general direction. The receptionist gave a pitying sigh and a smile, then waved him away.

* * *

"Sir, I –"

"This is him, Wes," Sebastian said loudly, his arm curling around Kurt's waist and effectively tugging him closer until their sides were fully pressed together. Kurt startled at the close contact, his head snapping up immediately. He was sure his expression must have been a blend of shock, horror, and disbelief. What was going on?

"And you said he works for you?" Wes queried, raising an eyebrow at their exchange. Sebastian's grip loosened for a fraction of a second before tightening on his waist. Kurt continued to stare at Sebastian, examining his face for signs of an oncoming flu or illness that might be allowing a worse demon than himself to possess his body.

"That's right, he's my secretary. Tell him, babe."

"I'm his secretary," Kurt confirmed, his voice steadier than he had anticipated it would be – especially after hearing the pet name 'babe' addressed to him by Sebastian Smythe, of all people. _What the hell is going on? _He tried to ask with his eyes, but Sebastian refused to meet his gaze. Instead, he trained his cold, hard gaze on Wes, who returned it challengingly. There were a few beats of silence, in which both men glared unblinkingly at one another, before there were peals of delighted laughter – on Wes' part, anyway. Kurt doubted Sebastian Smythe was capable of making such a sound if it weren't sarcastic or mean-spirited.

"What's going on? I don't –"

"Don't worry, babe. I explained everything to Wes. He knows now that we're… together," _Now that must have caused him pain to say_, Kurt thought, "but he also knows that you can't help – uh, you can't help who you fall in love with, right?" Kurt's mouth was gaping at Sebastian in what he was certain must have been an unattractive fashion, but he couldn't help it. He turned his incredulity on Wes, who seemed to interpret it for something else.

"Like my good old friend Sebastian just said, don't worry, Kurt. Your job isn't on the line – in fact, you ought to be given a raise! Had I known earlier, I might have promoted you, but since your ass of a fiancé here didn't tell me, you can blame the loss on him. I'm sure he has ideas on how you could punish him – his eyes have that glint in them. I've known him for too long now not to know," Wes gushed, pulling Kurt into an embrace. Kurt stood there stiffly, unsure of how to respond, before reaching up and returning it. He glanced back over his shoulder and saw Sebastian rubbing the back of his neck, a blush just beginning to fade from his cheeks.

Kurt honestly didn't know what to make of it.

"This is just a testament to fate, you know," Wes said, walking Kurt and Sebastian out of his office with his hands on the smalls of their backs. "The two of you meeting a little over a year ago – just long enough for Sebastian to yank his head out of his ass and ask you out – and now the two of you getting married this weekend, right before you were scheduled for your deportation? It was meant to be. I'll bet Kurt distracted you from filling out that paperwork, huh?" He winked, and Kurt went from burning holes of utter disbelief into Sebastian's skull to burning them into Wes'.

"Next time, please tell me when you're on the cusp of one of your life's milestones, okay? You know I won't judge you. Most people are too scared to, but I wouldn't either way. Quit being such a tough guy, would you? We're supposed to be childhood friends. That just doesn't go away. Unfortunately I have to work at that meeting this weekend or I would most definitely be in attendance to the wedding, but since you're dealing with the immigration office and aren't allowed anyway, it really is perfect timing for you," Wes finished finally, clapping Sebastian on the back and shaking Kurt's hand firmly. "Call me after your honeymoon!" He added, retreating back into his office with a bounce in his step.

"You two lovebirds have fun, but not too much fun," The receptionist winked exaggeratedly at Kurt and Sebastian as they passed. Kurt suppressed a shudder, and found he didn't even have to spare a glance in Sebastian's direction to know the latter was rolling his eyes. He could feel it. "Happy early Thanksgiving, by the way!"

"You too," Kurt replied as he stepped into the elevator, the doors closing on his small voice.

* * *

"I swear, Wes is the gayest straight man I've ever known."

"Sebastian –"

Said man cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"_Sir_," Kurt spat, unable to keep the venom out of his voice. He was on the brink of frustrated tears at having no clue as to what was happening, especially when Sebastian and Wes had been throwing around words like 'babe' and 'love' and 'wedding' – and 'deportation.' "What in the _hell _is going on? Is this some sort of sick prank you talked those two into playing along with back there? Because of the coffee incident this morning? You know, maybe my dad is right, maybe I should just –"

"You and I are going to get hitched as soon as possible – preferably before the weekend so I can somehow surprise Wes by being at that meeting – and you will not breathe a word on the matter to anyone, do you understand?"

"_Me_? No. No, no, no, no, _no. _You can't be serious. There is no way that you and I – that we –"

"Hummel, do you want me to fire you and ruin you? Because that can be arranged. Also, how dense do you think I am? That manuscript you laid out on my desk yesterday – it was yours. Anonymous my ass. I brought you into Duval's office –" Here Sebastian's jaw clenched for a fleeting moment, "– to show you what could happen to you if you keep that up. I'm trying to help you, now shut your damn mouth and help me for _once_," He snapped, carding his fingers through his hair.

"For once? You've really got to be joking, right? Do you not realize how miserable and hard it is, trying to cater to your every need? Every conversation with my father ends in him telling me to quit this job because of you! Up until now I could take it, I could take how ridiculous you were and still are when things don't go your merry way, but now – now _this?_ The very last thing I want to do is marry you! You're a hit-and-run type of guy, and we – we can't. I won't!" Kurt shouted.

Sebastian brought his fist down on the 'stop' button on the elevator pad before advancing towards Kurt. Kurt stumbled backwards until he was pressed flat against the wall, Sebastian hovering over him.

"If you don't do this, I get deported back to France for a year. Once I'm gone, Nick Duval is poised to take my place, and once he's in charge, you can bet that sweet little ass of yours that you'll be fired faster than you can even say 'I quit'. Jeff Sterling will probably take your place, and simply because you've worked so closely with me for so long, Nick will want to ruin your reputation for anywhere else you've ever wanted to work. Jeff will carry his orders out like the little bitch he is, and you won't ever get another job in the state of New York again," Sebastian murmured furiously into Kurt's ear.

"I –"

"It won't last for more than the allotted time it takes for me straighten all this Visa shit out. Just do it, otherwise your dreams of becoming a writer are dashed and all that work you put in at Columbia will have been for nothing," Sebastian finished, brushing his lips against Kurt's ear and causing a shiver to roll down his spine. He bit down hard on his tongue and turned the other cheek – literally – as he squirmed between Sebastian and the wall, feeling disgruntled with himself and the world. Sebastian removed his hands from either side of Kurt's head, ruffling his hair as they went and (probably) deliberately mouthing against Kurt's ear again before stepping back as if to admire his handiwork.

"You look positively debauched. If you weren't so annoying in the way you always suck up to me, you might actually be hot," Sebastian remarked with an appraising eye.

"I can't believe I'm actually going to help you. I can't believe I just let you mess up my hair without biting your hand off," Kurt muttered, staring at his hands as he shook his head. Sebastian chuckled darkly, sliding a finger under his chin and lifting Kurt's face (and subsequently, his eyes) to meet his gaze, and when Kurt's eyes found Sebastian's, Sebastian rubbed his thumb across the other man's lips. Kurt found himself unable to move; he cursed himself for it, but the way Sebastian was looking at him…

Wes was right. He had only known his boss for a year, but even he could see that glint in his eye.

"_Now _you look hot."


	4. Honey Bee

**Title: **The Proposal

**Author:** vastlimitless

**Pairing:** Kurtbastian

**Rating:** PG-13

**Warnings:** None

**Disclaimer: **Glee belongs to a bald, yellow-hatted man-troll named Ryan Murphy and The Proposal belongs to Anne Fletcher and Pete Chiarelli, the movie's director and writer.

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**Summary: **A young, demanding boss forces his naïve assistant to marry him in order to keep his Visa status in the U.S. and avoid deportation back to France, his home country.

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It didn't take long for Kurt to regain his composure.

"You're – you're a pig," Kurt retorted, albeit with a hint of uncertainty to his sharp tone. After all, Sebastian _was_ his boss, and despite the fact he hated having to drag himself out of bed every morning only to deal with Sebastian as his reward, this was his job. It was a damn good one too – a better offer than he had gotten from any place else – which was mainly why he couldn't just up and quit like his parents advised him to do. He received a fairly decent paycheck and he was learning how publishing companies really operated, which was important if he ever wanted to get his book published.

He didn't want to put his job even further on the line than it already was with the suddenly very real, looming threat of Sebastian's deportation to France and Nick Duval's possible reign over Smythe Publishing, but he was being forced to choose between his dreams or his pride – both of which he held in high regards.

"Stop looking at me like that," Kurt snapped, peering into the elevator door's reflective surface and attempting to style his hair again. He knew that yelling in his boss' face and snapping at him like he was now likely wasn't the brightest idea, but he was now expected by Sebastian's boss (and apparently, childhood friend) to _marry_ Sebastian Smythe. It hardly mattered how long they would be tied to each other, or why – just that he had actually agreed to go through with the plan.

"You know, Wes has always been so desperate to set me up with someone who I'd have an everlasting commitment of love to, and even though he's known me for years and he knows perfectly well who I am, it was a piece of cake convincing him we were not only dating, but engaged to be married," Sebastian started, completely disregarding Kurt. In fact, when Kurt's eyes met Sebastian's in the reflection of the elevator doors, he looked highly amused.

"Convincing the incompetent fools on our floor –" Kurt bristled at that and muttered, more to himself than Sebastian about how they were all working underneath the biggest fool of them all (clearly Sebastian didn't care what came out of his mouth, actually seeming to enjoy being sassed instead of pampered), "– might be a more difficult task, though I suspect Mrs. Dixon sent out an email the second those doors closed. They'll be welcoming us with whispers and stares, and if any one of them says anything to Nick Duval that leads him to believe we're telling anything but the truth, that could mean trouble." Sebastian said, pressing a button and sending the elevator on its descent again.

"I suggest you keep that pretty little head of hair mussed up like that. It'll give us an edge, and it's actually not a bad look for you, doll face." He added with an extravagant wink. Kurt's face warmed as his mind drifted back to their position a few minutes ago, and consequently to that night where Sebastian had drawled similar sentiments at him.

He couldn't help thinking that if it hadn't been a Thursday night all those months ago, and if he hadn't have had work the next day, he might have very well gone home with Sebastian.

The only difference was that now, whereas he had been slightly more affected by Sebastian's lines in the beginning, Kurt had been given the opportunity to get to know Sebastian while they were both completely sober, and didn't _that_ change the entire game.

"By the way, just because we're getting hitched doesn't mean I'm going to stop having my fun."

Kurt took a deep breath, reminded himself not to let his temper get the best of him again (it was practically second nature by now after working under Sebastian for a year), and let his head fall against the wall with a _thunk_.

* * *

Sebastian had been right; once the elevator doors slid open to reveal a slightly flustered Kurt and a smug-looking Sebastian, whispers erupted. Kurt caught the eye of his good friend Trent, who merely gaped at him like a fish. He received a similar reaction from Thad, who had managed to mouth, 'Him? _Really_?'

They didn't know the half of it.

* * *

After narrowly escaping being bombarded with questions about the latest gossip, Kurt fell into step beside Sebastian as the two walked to the immigration office from Smythe Publishing in silence. He was secretly grateful that Sebastian was who he was – he didn't want to do this any more than Kurt did, or so it seemed, and if what he said earlier about 'having his fun' was anything to go by, maybe this short-lived marriage wouldn't even affect either of them that much. They would go about life as usual until they could divorce, and then… _Then what? _Kurt asked himself. _My first husband will be someone who I can hardly stand, who belittles me, who my family despises, but then after we divorce he'll go back to being my Satanic boss? How is that fair?_

By now Kurt had decided that the latter had only been trying to get a rise out of him in the elevator, to persuade him to see things his way and not leave him to his own devices. Definitely unfair. God forbid Sebastian Smythe actually had to do something himself. He couldn't even go to the immigration office alone – although Kurt supposed that if they were going to get married, it was probably important he was there to make the case more convincing.

He was also grateful that Sebastian continued to tap away at his phone, presumably still working despite Wes' words. In the back of his mind, Kurt had known that Sebastian was from out of the country – he'd had to sort out some of the paperwork about his Visa that Sebastian hadn't deigned to fill out – but he never expected anything like this to happen. When Sebastian waved him away with the paperwork, Kurt had always assumed he had it under control. He dealt with large, pressing amounts of paperwork at times and he had always pulled through when it came to a deadline, but there they were, stepping into the immigration office because Sebastian couldn't be bothered to sign his name on a sheet of paper.

Kurt groaned inwardly at the sight he was greeted with. The waiting room was packed, and he wasn't entirely sure where the line ended.

"Come on," Sebastian said, pushing past those in line until he made it to the front. Sebastian walked with such conviction that these grumbling people made way for him, and even Kurt believed he had somewhere more important to be. However, all they had waiting for them after this hurdle was more work and a wedding neither wanted to attend, so he knew better. It took Kurt longer to push through the line as he wasn't nearly as aggressive about it as Sebastian was, but he reached the front desk by the time Sebastian turned around to verify he was behind him before striding into the back of the building.

"We're supposed to meet a Mr. Figgins," Sebastian announced, peeking into open windows of small offices before finally leading Kurt into one. "This is it." He added, moving to the side to allow Kurt in. Kurt promptly plopped down into one of the chairs in front of the desk, noting the way Sebastian remained where he was, standing as far away as possible from Kurt and the chair juxtapose to him.

A few awkward beats of silence later, Kurt spoke up, nervously wringing his hands on his lap as they waited for the arrival of Mr. Figgins. "I have a bad feeling about this," He murmured, glancing around the office that was so littered with manila folders and papers stacked tall upon file cabinets. "If you really think about it –"

"Think about what?" A voice asked, the door opening to reveal a short, stocky, Indian man. A weird smile stretched across the man's lips, and Kurt couldn't help thinking how he reminded him of his high school principal. Luckily, Sebastian stepped in to Kurt's rescue (though Kurt figured he really just wanted this to be over with already, having wasted ten minutes already as it was) and greeted Mr. Figgins with a firm handshake, brief introductions, and polite words about his being here. Sebastian could be so full of it.

"Now, let us get this show on the road. Just one question before we begin – are you two committing fraud to avoid Mr. Smythe's deportation back to France so that he may keep his position as executive editor in chief at Smythe Publishing?" Figgins asked, settling down at his desk and leafing through a thin file that was presumably theirs. Kurt gulped and glanced at Sebastian fleetingly.

Sebastian almost looked affronted. Kurt suppressed a chuckle, though let one filter through as though in disbelief, feeling like he had to contribute at least _something _to this performance. He didn't participate in all of that community theatre for nothing.

"Where did you hear that?" Sebastian asked, shaking his head and crossing his arms. "Was it a Nick Duval?" He added, and Kurt resisted the urge to say anything. He didn't trust himself not to blurt out the truth.

"That was the gentleman's name, I believe," Figgins nodded.

"Oh, Nick. Poor, _poor _Nick," Sebastian sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked genuinely distraught to someone who had no clue what was the truth and what was not. "I'm so sorry about that. Nick was actually let go of not too long ago. It was a bittersweet goodbye, though I'm sure he's dropped the 'sweet' since then. Again, I apologize." Kurt nodded his head in agreement, trying to convey sympathy with his eyes.

"Is that all, Mr. Figgins? We wouldn't want to monopolize too much of your time," Sebastian said, edging towards the door. Figgins smiled and gestured to the empty seat beside Kurt, which Sebastian graciously took.

"Now, young men, here is how this is going to work. Step one is an interview, in which I will ask each of you a separate set of questions that a couple, such as yourselves, should know about one either. Step two is the digging – I go through your phone records, I talk to your family and friends and neighbors and coworkers. If the answers in either of your interviews don't add up or match exactly, I will be forced to deport you, Mr. Smythe, and as for you, Mr. Hummel, well. You will have committed a felony, young man. A $250,000 fine and five years in federal prison, where I have heard the inmates can be rough." Kurt bit his tongue then, and noticed Sebastian tense in the corner of his eye.

"Not as rough as Sebastian, I'm sure," He murmured, and Sebastian laughed loudly. Figgins simply smiled, giving nothing away as he leaned forward. "Mr. Hummel, do you have anything else to say?" Kurt shook his head slowly, letting his anger abate at Figgins' slight. "You've been awfully quiet this whole meeting. Are you sure you don't have something to tell me?"

Kurt met Figgins' gaze steadily, his head still shaking side to side slowly, not quite sure what Figgins was seeking from him. If they made it past Figgins' evaluation, Sebastian would have his Visa renewed for however long and Kurt would divorce him after the set amount of time and life would return to normal. For all of this, Kurt was essentially receiving nothing in return. He typically wasn't one to give and expect to receive, but Sebastian had driven him insane for a year and now he was forcing him to marry him – whether or not either of them wanted to. He didn't see why Sebastian couldn't have lied about being engaged to someone else, someone who wasn't Kurt, but he _had_. And staring in the face of an enormous fine and five years of imprisonment, Kurt had a grand idea.

"The truth…" He sensed Sebastian shifting in his seat, turning to look at him expectantly. Oh, he'd love this, Kurt would make sure of it. It was the least he could do for all of the humiliation he put Kurt through. Even if it didn't necessarily happen, it would still be worth it to watch Sebastian squirm at losing exactly what he was fighting for. "The truth is that Sebastian and I… We weren't looking for a relationship when we started. We weren't looking for anything at all, but here we are, a year later, about to – about to get married this weekend with my family, to make this _everlasting commitment of love_ official," Kurt smiled. "We couldn't tell anyone we worked with about the engagement. We even faked hating each other, can you imagine? It was hard, but we couldn't or else it wouldn't seem appropriate with the promotion coming up and all."

Figgins and Sebastian both raised their eyebrows at him.

"Your promotion?"

"We felt that it would be incredibly inappropriate if it were ever revealed we were dating, much less engaged, and that Sebastian's plans were to promote me to editor," Kurt nodded. Figgins seemed to accept that, and Kurt cheered as he took note of the way Sebastian's smile had grown especially false.

"What about your families? Do they know?"

"My parents are dead. Both of them. No siblings either," Sebastian answered with a shrug.

"Are _your_ parents dead?" Figgins turned to Kurt with a sarcastic expression on his face. Kurt felt his earlier bravado slowly slipping through his fingers as his satisfaction at catching Sebastian off guard faded away.

"Of course not, they're alive. Very much alive and breathing. Healthy, too," Sebastian interjected. Kurt resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he regained his confidence after Figgins took his attention off of Kurt. He didn't know what it was – the blatant lying, Figgins' suspicion, or the whole stress of the situation – that made Figgins appear so daunting and intimidating.

"Like I said, we're getting married this weekend and my whole family will be there, along with some friends –"

"For his Aunt Anne's fortieth birthday. His aunt hates birthdays, so we thought we might brighten the occasion a little with the prospect of a wedding starring her favorite nephew. Plus, it's Thanksgiving break." Sebastian finished.

"Oh?" Figgins said, clasping his hands together on his desk and looking as though this would be his only source of entertainment all day. He was certainly milking it. "Where will this birthday bash slash wedding take place?" Kurt narrowed his eyes at Sebastian imperceptibly, still trying to decide how creepy it was on a scale of one to ten that Sebastian actually _listened _to him when Kurt rambled on about nothing on the days they were working on paperwork and such together in Sebastian's office. Kurt had mostly only talked to prevent Sebastian from opening his mouth, afraid he would have torn all the papers into shreds if Sebastian provoked him.

"At Kurt's parents' home, of course," Sebastian shrugged, casting a second-long glance at Kurt that screamed 'help me.'

"Where's that again?" Figgins pressed, his lips curling up into a grin. Kurt could practically hear him cheering in his mind at catching Sebastian off guard as well, and Kurt suddenly felt protective. He had worked for this asshole for an entire miserable year, and no one was going to embarrass Sebastian in this situation but him.

"Lima, Ohio," Kurt cut in casually, patting Sebastian's shoulder.

"Ohio?"

"Ohio," Sebastian confirmed. "That's where my – uh, my honey hails from," He said, his voice taking on a sweetness to it that was too foreign for Kurt's taste. He was used to cold and calculating threats, or irritating, god-awful sexual innuendos. Sebastian reached out and brushed his knuckles across Kurt's cheek, catching his eye and silently warning him that whatever events occurred within this room were not to be spoken of outside of its confines.

"Oh, _bee_," Kurt sighed dreamily, silently mocking him. Figgins shook his head minutely and began putting up the contents of their file.

"I see. I see how this is going to go," He said, lifting a brow challengingly. "I will see the two of you on Monday morning after the break, bright and early at nine am. I must say, I am looking forward to this!" Figgins added, scribbling the date down onto a Post-It note and sticking it to Sebastian's hand when he reached for it.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Figgins called out cheerfully, though Kurt detected a hint of falsity in his parting words.

"You too," Kurt replied for the second time that day, as Sebastian tugged him through to the exit.

* * *

**A/N: **I want to thank every single one of you who has read or reviewed! I followed that scene in the immigration office pretty closely compared to the other scenes in the movie that have happened. I can't answer many questions without giving anything else away though. I have to say though, it _would _seem as though there's a mutual attraction there, don't you think? ;) I've also noticed a lot of you are irritated by Sebastian, but I hope to turn it around in the near future. I'm watching different chunks of the movie as I write (I'm using it as a sort of outline) and tweaking things so that not everything is all so predictable, but Kurt _will_ be bringing Sebastian home. I can only imagine what Burt will have to say about that.

Another thing: I've noticed that I've developed a pattern where I take a break for about a day and then write the next chapter, so that these updates keep coming every two days. My plan is to keep that up, but don't hold me to it! More than likely that's what will continue to happen, however, seeing as summer has just begun for me. I might also begin posting chapters to tumblr as well. Thank you again for reading and I hope you've enjoyed this story so far!


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